A century on from the end of World War I we acknowledge their service …
Lest we forget.
Wireless Operator Michael English Bryan
Born: 27 December 1888, Greta. Died: 6 January 1959 Brunswick East.
Served: At sea (troop transports) and German New Guinea
Like his brothers, Mick attended the Pakenham State School and became a farmer at Pakenham South.
Before the war, he was active in the local Pakenham South community, serving as chair of the Pakenham South Progress Association.
“Genial Mick” was also a self-taught wireless operator and even erected a receiving station on his farm.
Mick put these skills to good work during the war by joining the “wireless staff” and serving on transport ships. Civilian wireless operators served on troop ships, transports and merchant navy ships throughout the war.
In October 1917 Mick joined the Australian Military and Naval Expeditionary Force in German New Guinea, which the Australians had occupied at the beginning of the war.
Mick was stationed at Rabaul and served as a Chief Petty Officer in the Wireless Section.
Mick had married Annie McLoughlin in 1916.
After the war, Mick appears to have been living with Annie on Nauru, another former German territory in the Pacific which was ceded to Australia.
Their daughter Mary was born there in 1921. After returning to Australia, the family settled in Brunswick, where Mick continued to work for the Department of Defence as a clerk and then a naval examiner.
This is an extract from Patrick Ferry’s book A Century After The Guns Fell Silent – Remembering the Pakenham District’s WWI Diggers 1914-18.
For more details on this and other profiles in the book, head to the website www.pakenhamww1.com
